jennings



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. 0. JENNINGS. APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING, RAISING, AND LOWERING ELECTRIC LAMPS.

Patented 1300.26, 1882.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. 0. JENNINGS. APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING, RAISING, AND LOWERING ELECTRIC LAMPS.

f Patented Dec. 26, 1882.

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UNITED STATES CHARLES o. JENNiNcs, or BUFFALO,

PATENT OFFICE.

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR ()F ONEHALF TO JAMES ADAMS AND JOHN F. MOULTON, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING, RAISING, AND LOWERING ELECTRIC LAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,526, dated December 26, 1882.

Application filed May 4,1882. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES 0. JENNINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for suspending, Raising, and Lowering Electric Lamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, Io such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this .15 specification.

My invention consists in improvements in certain apparatus for suspending, raising, and lowering electric lamps, for which Letters Patent No. 249,449 were granted to J. F.

Behn, November 15, 1881, and also the application of the electric circuit to such improved apparatus and the electric lamp suspended therefrom.

The lamp-carriage which I employ, and the peculiar construction of which forms a part of my invention, differs somewhat in detail from that shown in the above-named patent, although its manipulation, broadly, as well as that of the lamp, remains the same as in the 0 Behn patent. Theseimprovements in the carriage will be more particularly hereinafter described and claimed. The manner in which I have applied the positive and negative wires to'the lamp and its suspending apparatus is 5 substantially as follows: The lamp is suspended by two cords or wires of suitable conducting material,whioh pass over separate pulleys on the carriage, and are secured rigidly to a cross beam provided with friction -rollers,

which, like the carriage, is adapted totravel which the rollers are mounted. Thesqbraekets, as well as those which support the pulleys or rollers in the carriage over which the lampsupporting cables pass, are properly insulated from their supports. By means of this arrangement the electricity is conducted to the lamp uninterruptedly, both when the carriage and cross-beam are at rest, or when both or either of them are in motion in the operation of adjusting the lamp in position. In order that the same may be fullyunderstood, I have represented in the accompanying drawings and will proceed to more particularly describe the best mode in which I have at present arranged my apparatus, it being understood that the apparatus may be modified in detail without departingi'rom the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of myimproved apparatus. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is anend elevation of the. cross-beam; and Fig. 4 is a section ofthe same, taken in the-line :r w.

Referring to the drawings, a a. are the carriage-supporting cables, which are secured at their ends to the walls of a room or building. These cables are of metal or other conducting material, and 'are arranged in a horizontal plane.

b is the lamp-carriage, preferably of metal. It is of skeleton form, having the arms bradiating from the center. are each provided wit-h a grooved pulley or upward projection, b of-the arms. These pulleys serve to support the carriage I) upon the cables a, and permit of its being moved back and forth thereon. On each side of the center of the carriage, and above the same, are secured the supporting-brackets c, in which are pivoted the pulleys or rollers 0. These brackets are insulated from the main body of the carriage by the insulating material 0 preferably of hard rubber.

d is a cord, secured at d to the carriage, by means of which the carriage is manipulated, as will more fully hereinafter appear. Another operating-cord may be secured at the point 01 if found desirable.

The ends of the arms roller, h of insulating material, pivoted in an ais a cross-beam, provided on its under side and at each extremity thereof with a metallic hanger, e, in which is pivoted a grooved pulley or roller, e preferably of metal.

f is a spring, also preferably of metal, secured to the under side of the hanger e, the ends f of which are concaved, and rest upon the carriage-supporting'cables a, and serve to press the cables 0. upon the pulleys e These springsfnot only serve to preserve a constant contact of the pulleys with the cables (1, but give more conducting-surface for the passage of the current of electricity.

9 is a slotted metal post,secured to the side of the hanger e, and provided with a thumbscrew, g, for securing a conducting-wire thereto; or this wire may be secured by a thumb screw'di'rectly to the body of the hanger. The hanger c is insulated from the cross-beam e by the insulating-strips h. To this cross-beam c are secured thelamp-supporting cables or wires 70, which pass from such cross-beam over the pulleys c of the carriage, and from which, below the carriage b, is suspended the electric lamp 1.

The movement of the cross-beam upon the supporting-cables a is regulated by the cord is, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

The electric circuit is caused to pass through my improved apparatus and the lamp suspended thereto in the following manner, viz: Connection is made between the positive and negative wiresof the circuit and the cables at by means of the conducting-wires m. The insulated metallic hangers e are connected to the metallic lamp-suspending cables by the conducting-wires a, secured to the cables k and to the posts g on the hangers c, and as these suspending-cables 7c are suitably connected to the carbons in the lamp the circuit is thus made complete.

The operation of my improved apparatus is as follows: The lamp can be lowered in one of two ways. If it is desired to lower itin a vertical line in the center of the street or room, the carriage is allowed to remain at rest upon the cables or, and the cross-beam eis permitted to move upon the cables (0 toward the carriage b by the weight of the lamp suspended from such cross-beam, which lamp descends as the cross-beam approaches the carriage. The speedin descending, as well as thedistance, can be regulated by the cord it from the building or side of the room by an attendant. If, on the other hand, it is desirable to lower the lamp to the side of the building or room, the cross-beam is allowed to remain at rest upon the cables (1/, and the carriage is permitted to travel toward the cross-beam by the weight of the suspended .lamp, its motion being regulated by the cord cl under the control of an attendant.

It will thus be seen that by means of my improved apparatusjust described the suspended lamp may be raised or lowered at will in an easy and expeditious manner, and the electricity is conducted to the lamp uninterrupted y, both when the carriage and cross-beam are at rest, and when either or both'are in motion in the operation of adjusting the lamp in position.

It is evident the supporting position of both the carriage and cross-beam upon the cables at can be reversed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1am aware,as hereinbefore stated, of Patent No. 249,449, granted to J. F. Behn, which covers broadly a lamp-carriage adapted to be moved back and forth upon two or more supporting-cables, and provided with suitable cords and pulleys for operating the carriage upon such cables in raising and lowering the lamp, and do not therefore lay claim to such broad idea; but

What I do claim is-- 1. An apparatus for suspending, raising, and lowering electric lamps, consisting substantially of supporting-cables secured at their ends to the walls of a building or room, a carriage having arms provided with pulleys adapted to travel upon the su 'iporting-cables, and insulated brackets or hangers secured thereto, also provided with pulleys for the reception of the lam p-support-ing cables, a cross-arm having at each end thereof a grooved pulley, pivoted to an insulated bracket or hanger to adapt the cross-beam to travel upon the carriage-supporting cables, supporting-cables for the electric lamp,'secured rigidly to the crossbeam and passing over the insulated pulleys upon the carriage to the lamp suspended below such carriage, and conducting-wires connecting the positive and negative wires of the circuit with the supporting-cables and the insulated pulleys of the cross-beam with the lamp'snspending cables, all combined and operating substantially as shown and described.

2. In an apparatus for suspending, raising, and lowering electric lamps, the lamp-carriage consisting substantially ot' the body portion b, the radial arms I), having the insulating supporting-pulleys b pivoted in the outer ends thereof, and arranged substantially in a horizontal plane when the lamp-carriage is in position, and the insulated brackets 0, having pivoted therein the grooved pulleys 0, adapted to receive the lamp-suspending cables, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an apparatus for suspending, raising, and lowering electric lamps, the cross-beam 6, having secured at each end the insulated hanger s or brackets e, in which are pivoted the grooved pulleys 0 the springs f, secured to the brackets or hangers e, and resting at their ends against the supporting-cables a, and the slotted posts 9, for the reception ot' conducting-wires, substantially as shown and described. I

4. In an apparatus for suspending, raising, and lowering electric lamps, in combination, the conducting-wires in, connecting the working-circuit with the supportingcables a, the.

supporting-cables a, the insulated pulleys 6 the whole being arranged to form an unintexy and their supporting brackets or hangers e, rnpted circuit through the suspended lamp, [0 secured to the CIOSS-bGaID-G, the springs f, sesubstantially as shown and described.

cured to the hangers e, and resting against 1 Y l the cables a, the conducting-wires n, the sus- CHARLES JEhNnGb pending-cables k, secured to the cross-beam Witnesses: and connected at their ends with thelamp, and WILLIAM F. KIP, the insulated pulleys 0' upon the carriage b, YV. '1 MILLER. 

